Popular tobacco products, such as cigarettes, smokeless tobacco products, and/or the like typically include a tobacco or tobacco-related material such as shredded tobacco (e.g., in cut filler form). Some tobacco products further include a capsule object within the tobacco and/or tobacco-related product. For example, a smokeless tobacco product configured for insertion into the mouth of a user may include a pouch portion that contains a tobacco formulation having a tobacco material and a plurality of microcapsules therein, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,695,609 to Dube et al., which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. In another example, a cigarette may include a tobacco rod and a filter element that incorporates a capsule therein, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,984,719 to Dube et al., which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Various types of capsules suitable for use in tobacco products, tobacco product components that incorporate breakable capsules, and equipment and techniques associated with manufacturing those tobacco product components, are proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,631,722 to MacAdam et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 7,479,098 to Thomas et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 7,833,146 to Deal; U.S. Pat. No. 7,972,254 to Stokes et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 8,186,359 to Ademe et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 8,262,550 to Barnes et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 8,303,474 to Iliev et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 8,308,623 to Nelson et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 8,353,810 to Garthaffner et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 8,381,947 to Garthaffner et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 8,459,272 to Karles et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 8,739,802 to Fagg; U.S. Pat. No. 8,905,243 to Dixon et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 9,055,768 to Henley et al.; U.S. Pat. App. Pub. Nos. 2010/0184576 to Prestia et al.; 2011/0271968 to Carpenter et al.; to Henley et al. and 2013/0085052 to Novak III, et al.; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/835,962, to Ademe, filed Aug. 26, 2015; which are incorporated herein by reference. Additionally, representative cigarette products that possess filter elements incorporating breakable capsules have been marketed throughout the world under the brandnames such as “Marlboro W-Burst 5,” “Kent iSwitch,” “Kool Boost,” “Camel Lights with Menthol Boost,” “Camel Crush,” “Camel Silver Menthol,” “Camel Filters Menthol,” and “Camel Crush Bold.” Furthermore, representative types of vapor delivery systems that incorporate breakable capsules have been proposed in U.S. Pat. Pub. Nos. 2014/0261486 to Potter; 2015/0059780 to Davis; 2015/0335070 to Sears et al.; which are incorporated herein by reference.
Exemplary types of capsules, capsule ingredients, capsule configurations and formats, capsule sizes, capsule properties and capsule preparation techniques are set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 5,223,185 to Takei et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,387,093 to Takei; U.S. Pat. No. 5,882,680 to Suzuki et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,719,933 to Nakamura et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 7,754,239 to Mane; U.S. Pat. No. 6,949,256 to Fonkwe et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 7,984,719 to Dube et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 8,470,215 to Zhang and U.S. Pat. No. 8,695,609 to Dube; U.S. Pat. App. Pub. Nos. 2004/0224020 to Schoenhard; 2005/0196437 to Bednarz et al.; 2005/0249676 to Scott et al. and 2014/0053855 to Hartmann et al.; and PCT WO 03/009711 to Kim and PCT WO 2014/170947 to Iwatani; which are incorporated herein by reference. Additionally, examples of representative types of capsules and capsule components have been commercially available as “Momints” by Yosha! Enterprises, Inc. and “Ice Breakers Liquid Ice” from The Hershey Company; and representative types of capsules and capsule components have been incorporated into chewing gum, such as the type of gum marketed under the tradename “Cinnaburst” by Cadbury Adams USA.
During the production of these tobacco products, inspection of the capsule and/or the tobacco product may occur. Example systems for analyzing, inspecting, and/or sorting defective tobacco products and/or capsules included therein are set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 8,905,243 to Dixon; U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2014/0131579 to Ademe et al.; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/835,962 to Ademe et al., filed Aug. 26, 2015, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. For example, inspection of the capsules to be included in the tobacco products may occur before, during, and/or after the production of the tobacco product. Inspection of the capsules during and/or after the production of the tobacco product that includes the capsule may provide additional difficulties. For example, a system configured to inspect capsules after the tobacco product has been produced could allow for the introduction of a defective capsule in the final tobacco product, thereby wasting materials by producing a defective tobacco product. In this regard, the manufactured tobacco product that includes the defective capsule cannot be sold for consumption because the perception of the quality of the product may be damaged.
As such, it may be desirable to inspect capsules to determine which capsules are defective before incorporating any capsules into a tobacco product. In particular, it may be desirable to determine if a capsule, which includes an outer shell and an inner payload, has dimensions, attributes, and/or properties that are substantially equal to or within predetermined acceptable interval limits. Further, it may be desirable to perform the inspection of capsules largely, or entirely, by high-speed automated machinery. As such, there exists a need for a system and method for inspecting capsules for defects prior to the capsules being included within a tobacco product for distribution and sale. It may also be desirable for such a solution to be readily implemented with respect to existing tobacco product production machinery.